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| Venison Time!; Venison | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 3 2011, 11:38 AM (223 Views) | |
| Mommacat | Nov 3 2011, 11:38 AM Post #1 |
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For me, nothing signals fall like deer season. Well, maybe apple harvesting comes in a very close second! We had our first venison heart for dinner tonight! That's always our favorite - nothing else compares, although having a freezer full or shelves of canned venison is a very satifying feeling, too. I know many people object to the "wild" or "gamey" taste of venison, but I think the taste of the meat is determined in large part on how it is handled and cut up. First of all, many people don't treat the meat the same way they'd treat a beef - meaning you'd never think of strapping a cow onto your truck and driving in the warm sun for 4 hours - you shouldn't do it with venison either! Venison should be gutted and hung as soon as possible after its killed. It should be hung in a cool place and should only hang for less than 24 hours before its cut and wrapped for freezing or cooked. The strong taste comes from the tallow and from the connective tissue of the meat. All tallow should be trimmed away and as much of the silvery-colored membrane as possible should be removed from the meat. Venison should, of course be cooked to a well-done state, but you don't have to over cook it for it to be safe to eat - if its done properly it should still be moist and tender. Many people don't like the texture of ground venison and it is pretty dry. I have usually added pork meat to my burger meat so it has some moisture and it also gives it a nice flavor. I usually use about a 3 to 1 ratio of venison to pork. Some people believe that venison should be rinsed off prior to cooking or packaging - that isn't necessary - if there are a few stray hairs from skinning, just take a damp paper towel and wipe them off. Finally, I have a real problem with venison burger that I've seen some people make. People often throw the 'scraps' into a bucket to be ground up for burger and they toss in blood-shot and bruised meat. In my opinion, your burger should NOT include any piece of meat that you would not be willing to fry up and eat as is. Any meat that has damage from wounds or has dried out or is otherwise unappetizing should be discarded. A good way to store venison is to can it. Cut the meat into bite-sized chunks, brown in a large pot with a little bacon grease or butter. Add onions and a little celery, if you like, and cook and stir the meat and veggies until the onions are translucent but not browned. Season to taste and add water as if you were going to make stew. You can also add some beef soup base or bouillon if you like a very rich tasting broth. Lower heat to a simmer and cook the venison until tender and fully cooked. Fill jars about 2/3 full of meat and top off with the broth. Process in your canner as the directions for canning beef. This is an excellent thing to have on hand. You can use it as the start of soup or stew and you can thicken the juice and serve the meat and gravy over rice or noodles. You can even eat it cold if it gets down to it. |
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| HandFarming | Nov 3 2011, 09:48 PM Post #2 |
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We grew up on venison and I can't believe people think it has a wild taste. But then, my grandfather used to leave a row or ten up all winter for the deer so they had good flavor. If I remember correctly, the deer hung in the trees for nearly the whole week of open season or more. They were gutted in the woods, skinned n hung in the cool weather. The steaks were tender and the venison baloney was mixed with the pork butchered the week before. I do remember hosing the carcasses off before it going to the shanty (where everything was butchered) and the stiffness was gone which showed it hung long enough and tender. With some of the deer, it took three guys to get the carcass up high enough and away from the dogs but the whole process was worth all the work. In the area I grew up in, if you didn't have deer hanging in the tree in the farm yard, the neighbors would come over to help finish the job at the end of the season. That was many years ago! |
| You can lead an ass to knowledge, but you can not make it think. | |
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| Mommacat | Nov 4 2011, 03:14 AM Post #3 |
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I know that many "traditionalists" hang their deer for many days - however, with the weather being anyone's guess, I think its best to get it cooled down and processed as soon as possible. Any meat that hangs out on warm fall days can't be real wholesome and not something I want to eat. But, like I said, I've been called "very, very picky"!! LOL As for hosing off the deer once its been skinned, that is pretty usual, but in my post I was referring to the individual cuts of meat not having to be washed before using or packaging. Certainly a person should rinse off the outer carcass once its been skinned and if the person that gutted the animal cut any of the internal organs, the cavity should, of course, be thouroghly rinsed as well. |
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| Grizzly | Nov 4 2011, 09:16 AM Post #4 |
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Great post Mommacat, many people I know could learn from it. Too many so called hunters don't have a clue what to do once they kill something. |
| Our ancestors left Europe to get away from this crap...as seen on a bumpersticker fns | |
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| Mommacat | Nov 4 2011, 10:57 AM Post #5 |
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Thanks, Grizzly! My cousin that lives in the metro told me once that after deer season the landfill is full of deer that people have killed and taken only the head or antlers and tossed the rest. I wonder if once they dragged their "kill" back home, they realized how much work it would involve to process it and decide its not worth the effort? I hate to see all the waste that goes on during hunting season. Very sad when you know there are many people going hungry that would love a nice thick steak for dinner! |
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| Grizzly | Nov 4 2011, 07:32 PM Post #6 |
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Not sure about this area (MN) but in other states they actually have fines for wasting hunted animals. I believe it's called, want and waste violation, and I've heard it's not cheap or taken lightly by DNR people. A guy I work with told me about it for when he elk hunts in Colorado. One thing he has done if the weather turns suddenly warm is put the meat in a cold mountain stream after they wrapped it in plastic bags. They have lost meat from warm weather so now they take along a generator and a freezer on a trailer so they have no more worries about spoiled meat. Bears are another problem they've had. He's come back with many interesting stories. |
| Our ancestors left Europe to get away from this crap...as seen on a bumpersticker fns | |
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| Mommacat | Nov 5 2011, 02:37 AM Post #7 |
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I have heard that in the western States, bears will come into campsites and try to find the meat because they can smell the blood and they will attack humans in the process. I don't know if MN has that kind of a waste law or not, but even if they did, all the "hunter" would have to say is that the meat got too warm and spoiled - not even our overly officious DNR could try to force them to eat rotted meat - or at least that would be my take on it. |
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| HandFarming | Nov 5 2011, 03:42 AM Post #8 |
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I can't imagine people not having venison after the work involved in getting the deer, the idea is pointless. Yeap to keeping the carcass cool. I'm from Wisconsin and the deer season runs late Nov so no worries. If a deer was shot earlier with now n arrow, then it might have been an issue. We've been chasing poachers off our farm since we bought it. Typically, Friday before opening for gun, we hear gun shots in our woods. I'm planning on hanging a orange dummy this year and if they confront me I'll yell at the dummy "get out of my woods" and shoot it in front of the poachers.....think that will make them think twice? ....or report me for shooting some guy in the woods? |
| You can lead an ass to knowledge, but you can not make it think. | |
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| Mommacat | Nov 5 2011, 08:32 AM Post #9 |
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Well, you know, having a dead body as evidence is no longer a requirement for a murder charge...just sayin.... |
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| Grizzly | Nov 5 2011, 10:31 PM Post #10 |
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We had that problem also with hunters when we first moved here. First couple years we would make them feel like dirt by telling them, "all you had to do was come to the door and ask so get the hell out of here" Then when strangers came to ask we just told them" too late, another party is already hunting here" Now it's only open to a very select few and no one even comes around. We got together with our neighbor and he keeps everyone off his too. Most weren't bad, just a certain few that shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. |
| Our ancestors left Europe to get away from this crap...as seen on a bumpersticker fns | |
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